Praise Him anyway…

It has been a difficult week this week.  Number four has really had a hard week, making my week miserable.  He’s acting out quite a bit now, nothing is met with with anything but aggravation and yelling.  It’s wearing on my nerves, and the rest of the family’s. 

I know he’s just not “regulated” but it’s getting difficult to go about our day to day stuff.  Our day is pock marked by screams and growls and yelling that is just so hard to get used to.  He’s also not doing any school.  At all.  He will work on a page or two of math here and there, but his penmanship is horrid and I can’t get him to work on it for any length of time (read 3 minutes here).  He does read, quite well, so that is fine.  I’d like to work more on science, but it’s just too much for him to concentrate on. 

We’ve been to OT for so long and then this summer something happened at his OT and they couldn’t keep their schedule straight and were changing on us, every time, with little more than an hours notice.  Needless to say that we missed all summer.  They were supposed to call with the social group schedule for the school year, but never did.  We’ve been without OT since June.  You can tell.  I’ve even called, only to be told they’ll call me back.  I’m near tears over that one.

And, in the midst of all of this and my hormonal pregnant self I am reminded, nearly constantly at this point, to offer praise to God for all of our blessings.  It’s so hard to do, so hard to offer praise when all I want to do is sit down and cry, throwing my hands in the air and saying “I QUIT!”.  Just when I think I can’t do it, I can’t homeschool these kids, this child, I can’t parent this child, I can’t this, I can’t that, I am reminded that I’m right. Ican’t.  But for the grace of God.  You see, it’s not about me.  It’s about doing everything for His glory.  It’s about raising my son to praise God despite his limitations and frustrations.  It’s about ME praising God for all He has blessed me with, all of these children, this wonderful calling to homeschool, everything.  The very breath I breathe is reason to give praise. 

I used to have a set of Precious Moments stickers.  One of them had a cute little girl whose ice cream had fallen off of her cone.  She was looking up and the caption was “Praise God ANYWAY” 

So, His praises I will sing, for all He has blessed me with, for everything that is in me I give praise!